I’m back! Apologies for the silence on the space for the past few weeks. After having guests in town, I left for the U.S. for a whirlwind trip that covered three states and included a bachelorette weekend, a wedding and meeting my new niece. I started in New York, then headed to Michigan and ended the trip in Phoenix and I’m getting tired again just typing that.

Trying to keep up with work on the road made things a bit hectic, but now that I’m back in Tokyo, I’m thrilled to share more what we’ve been up to lately. Expect another quick DIY, some snaps from our latest excursions in Japan to Osaka, Nara and back to Kyoto and more. But first, here are my happy sights from my trip to the U.S., starting with this gorgeous shot my cousin took of my absolute favorite city.

I hope your week is off to a great start!

One of the highlights of my weekend in NYC for my cousin’s bachelorette party was a wine tasting sail on the Hudson River. I must admit I spent the second half of it horizontally, as movement and my stomach apparently cannot be made friends by a double dose of dramamine and ginger gum.

I was thrilled to finally take an AKT class in person, especially after a successful morning shopping. But would I recommend doing in jet lagged? Maybe not.

Couldn’t get enough of sweet new niece Gwen.

Joined my sister and her family at the newly opened OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale, Arizona, where I watched these guys from the bathroom.

So thrilled football season has started! Had to make sure my youngest nephew was properly outfitted from head to toe for game day. Go Green!

As I’ve mentioned before, my food cravings when I was back in Michigan were not so healthy (I pray that one day I’ll experience a gotta-have-it broccoli moment, sort of). So when I got to Phoenix, Arizona to stay with my sister and her family, I had one restaurant on the top of my list: True Food Kitchen.

Known for their healthy and fresh menu, True Food Kitchen was established in part by Dr. Andrew Weil, a leader in alternative medicine, based on an anti-inflammatory way of eating. The menu at True Food Kitchens’ 10 locations is built around what organic produce, meat and seafood can be acquired from local sources. And the natural theme doesn’t end there — every element of the decor was developed with sustainability in mind. Not your typical chain, right?

What I love about this restaurant is the creativity of their dishes (like those edamame dumplings you see above) as well as their willingness to customize dishes to whatever your diet calls for. I seriously listened to the guy behind me turn the bowl of curry I got (see below) into his own custom creation with tofu and extra veggies.

The cocktails aren’t bad either. The lovely green one I gulped down (day cocktails are the best cocktails) was their cucumber martini made with, my favorite, St. Germain. Amazing.

I’m finding more and more health food stores throughout Tokyo, so I’m excited to make some True Food Kitchen-inspired dishes of my own. If you head to Arizona (or California, Colorado, Texas, Virginia or Georgia), make sure to stop by one of their locations for some food you can feel good about pigging out on.

Well, as predicted, I’m majorly hurting after my boot camp class yesterday. We had a brief snowstorm in the morning (nothing even stuck), but it was cold enough to make everyone else in my group cancel. So I had a one-on-one session with our trainer that made painfully obvious just how much exercising I didn’t do during vacation. It’s amazing how much not walking everywhere impacted my strength and endurance. Something I do everyday here without thinking — walking instead of driving — really does make all the difference. Another reason to love big-city living.

Going through my camera, I found some snaps from before I left that I wanted to share, starting with the roller coaster at Tokyo Dome City \on a particularly bright and sunny day. Watching it for a little while was a nice break from the stress of running around trying to get everything done before the trip.

Here are five more happy sights I wanted to share with you. Happy Wednesday!

No two skyscrapers are alike in Tokyo. This one almost sparkles.

Last Wednesday was a holiday, so we went out and found a new hamburger joint, J.S. Burgers Cafe in Shibuya. Tasty.

Picked up this awesome ornament in Sedona at their year-round Christmas store.

Craig insisted we start Valentine’s Day with this special delivery. Hey, I never need an excuse to eat pizza, but celebrating my amazing husband is pretty good reason.

Finished the day with this sweet treat. In Japan, men are typically the recipients of sweets on Valentine’s Day. It’s usually chocolate, but cheesecake is Craig’s favorite dessert. Men then return the favor by giving a larger gift on White Day, March 14. Can’t wait!

After my sister and I left Sedona, we made the roughly three-hour drive to the Grand Canyon National Park to revisit the Grand Canyon. I’ve been there before, but it’s been a long time. We’re talking matching outfits and pigtails kind of a long time.

Going back, I was no less awestruck than the first time by the power of nature. One minute, you’re driving through a picturesque forest of tall trees. The next, you’re dead ending at a hole in the Earth that’s 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep. My sister talked me into getting pretty close to edge, something I didn’t tell Craig about until after the fact. And hey, I’m still here, so that means I didn’t overthink avoiding ways to trip enough to actually trip.

I’m so glad my sister took me back to experience one of them again with an older set of eyes.

My trip back to the U.S. was full of too much joy to possibly measure. It was a visit that truly fed my soul while also making coming back to Tokyo feel more like going home. It’s amazing how some time away will do that. You long for your own bed, your own things, coming and going in your normal routine — you realize you miss it and suddenly that new place really feels like where you belong.

Among my happy sights for the week is this “sweet” shot from my stay at the Sedona Rouge with my sister. Any hotel that still leaves chocolate on the bed after turndown service is a winner in my book.

I hope your week is off to a sweet start as well.

Craig and our precious niece Laynee. The way he’s looking at her just melts my heart.

And finally, the best thing I got this year was this locket from Origami Owl my sister made for me as a thank you for babysitting. It has both our niece and nephew’s initials and birthstones, so they’re always close to my heart.

My father’s family has lived in Arizona since I was very little, easily making it the U.S. state I’ve visited the most by far. However, since we were typically coming out west to visit my elderly grandparents, we didn’t do much sightseeing. When my sister, Jackie, decided to make the move to Arizona shortly after completing college, I was sad to see her go, but also excited for all the adventures I knew we would have when I visited.

Being so far apart now, I treasure my limited time out here more than ever.

I arrived in Phoenix last Thursday and was welcomed by plenty of sunshine and cacti. We decided to do something special — just the two of us — on this visit, so Jackie and I made the short drive (about an hour and a half) to Sedona for a quick girls’ trip. We booked a room at the Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa, a resort my sister has stayed at before that boasts a wonderful spa and restaurant.

The whole drive there I was reminded how beautiful Arizona is and as we approached the famous red rocks of Sedona, I couldn’t help but feel more at peace after a few hectic — albeit wonderful — weeks.

Before checking in, we enjoyed a vegan lunch (I know, I KNOW, but I’m doing my best to ditch the animal products after some pretty decadent weeks of eating back in Michigan) at ChocolaTree and did some shopping, then made our way to the hotel for an early evening massage. I’ve not had a ton of massages before but this one, oh man, my masseuse was doing God’s work. There’s nothing better than a massage after a day of traveling.Now if I was only following her advice right now and not slouching as I write this, maybe my back wouldn’t be such a mess? After a steam bath, we got cleaned up and dined at REDS, the resort’s popular restaurant, where they serve a killer Moscow mule and the best butternut squash ravioli I’ve ever had.

The following morning we took a yoga class back in the spa and then hit the road again for the Grand Canyon (stay tuned). It was short trip but just what the both of us needed. I cherish every moment with my sister, knowing these opportunities to connect are nothing short of priceless.